1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a portable terminal. More particularly, the present invention relates to a portable terminal having a sliding module that combines a pair of housings to allow one of the housings to slidably move in a longitudinal direction with respect to the other housing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, portable terminals can be classified into bar-type terminals, flip-type terminals, and folder-type terminals according to their appearance.
The bar-type terminal has a single housing in which data input and output means, a transmitting unit, and a receiving unit are mounted. A keypad is the data input means and is exposed at all times, such that the bar-type terminal is likely to malfunction. Moreover, there is a limitation on miniaturization of the bar-type terminal because a sufficient distance should be maintained between the transmitting unit (or mouthpiece) and the receiving unit (or earpiece).
The flip-type terminal includes a main body, a flip, and a hinge module that combines the main body with the flip. In the flip-type terminal, data input and output means, the transmitting unit, and the receiving unit are mounted in the main body and malfunctioning can be prevented by the flip that covers a keypad that acts as a data input means. However, there is also a limitation on miniaturization of the flip-type terminal because a sufficient distance should be maintained between the transmitting unit and the receiving unit.
The folder-type terminal includes a main body, a folder, and a hinge module that rotatably combines the main body with the folder. The folder is opened and closed by rotation. When the folder is folded on the main body, it is possible to prevent a keypad from malfunctioning through a call wait mode. When the folder is opened in a call mode, a sufficient distance can be secured between the transmitting unit and the receiving unit, contributing to miniaturization of the terminal. For these reasons, folder-type terminals have become mainstream portable terminals.
With the diversification of designs of portable terminals, sliding-type terminals having two housings, one of which is opened by sliding on the other, have gradually come into widespread use.
In the simplest form of the sliding-type terminal, a predetermined-length guide groove is formed in one face of a housing, a guide protrusion is formed in one face of the other housing, and the guide protrusion is slidably combined with the guide groove. However, since users should directly move the housing such that the housing slides along the other housing, such configuration is inconvenient to use.
To solve this problem, a sliding-type terminal having a sliding module like a hinge device of a folder-type terminal has been widely used. The sliding module provides a driving force in a direction in which a housing closes the other housing in a predetermined section and a driving force in a direction in which the housing opens the other housing in the remaining section. The sliding-type terminal having the sliding module is disclosed in Korean Patent Publication No. 2004/85739A1 filed by the present applicant on May 6, 2004, which is hereby incorporated by reference. However, the disclosed sliding module has a structure in which a sliding guide and a spring module are stacked between housings, resulting in an increase of the thickness of the sliding-type terminal. In other words, the sliding-type terminal is convenient to use, but has a limitation on miniaturization. Additionally, since a separate spring module should be assembled and mounted in the sliding-type terminal, a process of manufacturing the sliding-type terminal is complex, causing degradation in assembly efficiency and productivity.
Accordingly, a need exists for a portable terminal in which a second housing slides with respect to a first housing.